KARACHI Celebrity Mohammad Yousuf gave a glimpse of his past when he pulled off the biggest upset by inflicting a 4-3 defeat on second seed and last year's national champion Mohammad Sajjad on the opening day of the NBP Ranking Snooker championship at Karachi Club on Wednesday.
Making his appearance after a long layoff, unseeded Yousuf, who has got a wildcard entry, recovered from 1-3 down to turn the table on his opponents winning 73-30, 2-79, 22-72, 31-79, 57-5, 57-28, 59-54.
He is drawn to meet Punjab's Mohammad Jawed in his second match on Thursday at 12.00noon.
Punjab's Mohammad Naeem and Sindh's Naveen Perwani also stole limelight on the opening day registering stunning victories over their rivals.
Lower ranked Naeem toppled province-mate and sixth seed Imran Shehzad 4-1 (46-54, 59-14, 55-39, 68-56, 60-17).
In a clash of former national champions, Naveen Perwani currently trailing at 17th slot in the ranking, overcame stiff opposition by getting past ninth seed Khurram Agha in fully stretched battle. Naveen was home 30-61, 38-67, 81-9, 74-16, 9-93, 45-21, 110-3.
Results
Sharjeel Mahmood (NWFP) bt Naeem Jaffer (Balochistan) 4-0 (first frame awarded to Sharjeel, 69-8, 72-41, 63-35);
Mohammad Yousuf (Sindh) bt Mohammad Sajjad (Punjab) 4-3 (73-30, 2-79, 22-72, 31-79, 57-5, 57-28, 59-54); Mohammad Asif (Punjab) bt Hamza Akbar (Punjab) 4-1 (66-53, 55-17, 61-11, 50-58, 81-16); Raees Khan (Punjab) bt Bahadur Baloch (Balochistan) 4-0 ( first frame awarded to Raees Khan, 60-35, 70-11, 75-26); Sultan Mohammad (Sindh) bt Asjad Iqbal 4-1 (84-1, 51-50, 55-68, 52-27, 57-29); Mohammad Naeem (Punjab) bt Imran Shehzad (Punjab) 4-1 (46-54, 59-14, 55-39, 68-56, 60-17); Mohammad Asif Toba (Punjab) bt Inam-ur-Rehman (NWFP) 4-2 (60-13, 58-32, 51-61, 78-8, 20-65, 60-43); Rambel Gul (NWFP) bt Shahdab Baig (Sindh) 4-1 (41-29, 42-76, 63-27, 74-1, 44-38); Qasim Kamani (Sindh) bt Kamran Razzak (Sindh) 4-2 (84-17, 55-43, 38-61, 73-30, 32-73, 75-50); Mohammad Javed (Punjab) bt Kamran Shah (Balochistan) 4-1 (49-96, 66-17, 61-21, 70-15, 65-36); Vishan Gir (Sindh) bt Umair Alam (Sindh) 4-0 (65-21, 52-43, 52-19, 68-24); Sohail Shehzad (Sindh) bt Saqib Butt (Punjab) 4-2 (61-30, 63-15, 23-64, 1-90, 73-2, 96- 50); Naveen Perwani (Sindh) bt Khurram Agha (Sindh) 4-3 (30-61, 38-67, 81-9, 74-16, 9-93, 45-21, 110-3); Mohammad Afzal (Punjab) bt Qadeer Butt (Punjab) 4-2 (59-47, 70-21, 48-59, 66-24, 40-64, 67-5); Nauman Awan (NWFP) bt Agha Bilawal (Sindh) 4-3 (65-31, 34-49, 28-41, 62-30, 21-61, 51-48, 55-51); Mohammad Nazeer (Punjab) bt Jawed Ansari (Sindh) 4-2 (1-71, 40-65, 63-48, 78-16, 59-4, 55-44).
Thursday's fixtures
Khurram Agha v Asjad Iqbal, Mohammad Afzal v Mohammad Naeem, Agha Bilawal v Mohammad Asif Toba, Mohammad Nazeer v Shahdab Baig at 10.00am; Qasim Kamani v Naeem Jaffer, Mohammad Javed v Mohammad Yousuf, Vishan Gir v Hamza Akbar, Sohail Shehzad v Bahadur Baloch at 12.00noon; Sultan Mohammad v Naveen Perwani, Imran Shehzad v Qadeer Butt, Inamur Rehman v Nauman Awan, Rambel Gul v Javed Ansari at 2.00pm; Sharjeel Mahmood v Kamran Razzak, Mohammad Sajjad v Kamran Shah, Mohammad Asif v Umair Alam, Raees Khan v Saqib Butt at 4.00pm.
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